Ex-nursing home worker to plead guilty to drug charges

BRENTWOOD - A former Rockingham County Nursing Home employee will plead guilty to charges that he tried to buy oxycodone pills for inmates at the county jail, according to court records.

Scott Martin, 26, of Plaistow is expected to appear before a judge on April 30 to enter his guilty plea and be sentenced on drug charges. Martin, who is free on bail, worked in the nursing home's laundry room until he was arrested Sept. 13 by undercover sheriff's deputies.

The Rockingham County Sheriff's Drug Task Force learned of Martin's alleged plans to smuggle drugs into the jail. A deputy working undercover posed as a potential seller during the investigation.

Exact terms of Martin's plea deal are still unclear. Prosecutors said in court papers they offered to recommend a 12-month jail term, and a 2- to 4-year suspended prison term in exchange for Martin pleading guilty.

Martin was indicted in December on charges of attempted possession of a controlled drug with intent to sell and conspiracy to sale of a controlled drug - charges that punishable by up to 3 ½ to 7 years in prison.

Deputies first learned of Martin's alleged drug business on Sept. 6. A confidential informant told Corrections Lt. David Consentino how drugs were being smuggled into the county jail.

"An employee working over in the laundry room at the nursing home was meeting with outside people and getting the drugs," Sgt. Jay Murphy said in a sworn affidavit. "This person would then give the drug to one of the inmates that works in the laundry room."

Martin called an undercover deputy, who posed as a drug seller, on Sept. 12, according to Murphy.

Martin met the deputy behind the nursing home during his break the next day to buy a dozen pills of what he thought was oxycodone pills, according to Murphy. Instead, deputies used placebo capsules filled with corn starch to resemble the narcotic.

An arrest team took Martin into custody without incident. Martin had regular contact with inmate "trustees" who are allowed to work in the nursing home, according to the sheriff's department.

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